8 People You May Not Have Thought to Pray For

In my private prayer time, it is obvious God wants me to pray for my family and friends, in which I oblige and do willingly. Other times, He whispers a completely different person whom I never thought to pray for.

If I believe each person I encounter was placed by God in my life for a reason, I have to believe God had me interact with this person to pray for them. Or better yet, to pray with them.

Prayer is the MOST you should do for anyone. Prayer can help people overcome. Pray for someone’s life to turn around. Pray a simple prayer of joy over their lives. Pray a softening of their heart. Pray for them to have hope.

Which brings me to a list of people we may not think of praying for. Some of these people come from our past. Some…we may have taken them for granted.

I challenge you today, to pray for at least one of these people. Your prayer can change everything!

1) Your pastor

Your pastor has a very big job. His job is to lead people in love and in God’s truth. I see my pastor pray in front of the congregation every Sunday, yet I tend to forget he is human like all of us. There was an article I read of a pastor committing suicide due to mental health, and I suddenly realize, pastors give so much, they forget to ask for help.

Pray for your pastor to have the strength of Jesus to preach the good news. Pray for balance in his life. Pray your pastor will take rest when he most needs it. Most of all, pray your pastor will commit to his natural family before he commits to his church family. Pray for your pastor’s marriage to thrive. Pray your pastor will have great leaders and mentors before him.

2) Your Grocery Store Clerk/Post Office Man Clerk, etc

I grocery shop twice a week and at least 1 of the 2 times, the cashier clerk whom I encounter will have a somber look on his/her face. I’m not sure what’s goes on in the retail world, but what I do sense is a lack of morale or a lack of hope.

I once heard a story of a woman, who went into her local Walmart everyday as her mission, and prayed for the staff working within Walmart. One day, a security guard stopped her and said “I’ve been looking at the security video footage…I don’t know what you have been saying to these people, lady, but the morale of this store has increased.”

Interact with your store clerks. Your UPS delivery person. The person who delivers your Instacart. Pray Jesus will instill hope within them. Give them a word of encouragement. Let them know what they do means something. Pray God has them right where they need to be.

3) That Person Who Flipped You off on the Road

The immediate inclination and fleshly gratification is to flip back the person who flipped you off on the road. I think it’s safe to say and agree, this is not the most godly thing to do.

We have so much power with our words and our actions. How about a quick prayer for them to slow down? Or pray Jesus will give them self control instead of anger. It’s so easy to judge the person who flipped you off, but honestly, you don’t know what their day was like. You don’t know what their childhood was like.

Perhaps they don’t know how to deal with their anger. Pray God will give them the tools and wisdom to deal with anger or road rage. Pray they don’t injure anybody on the road. Pray for them to stay safe!

4) Your Next Door Neighbors

In my current neighborhood, I have gotten a chance to know one of the moms who lives on my block. One day, she approached me with an issue she had with my dog.

Turns out, it wasn’t really an issue with my dog, but it was an issue of fear she’s had with dogs. She admitted she’s had a fear of them from the time a dog had bitten her on the knee. Seize this opportunity to offer prayer to rebuke fear from her.

Pray you have a great relationship with your neighbors. Pray they will honor your boundaries. Pray they will live God centered lives. Pray they will see the light of Jesus in you each time they encounter you.

5) Your Exes

Although I didn’t exactly end on good terms with all my exes, every once in awhile, God will prompt me to pray for them. As a believer, God has given me the ability to discern their past woundings, mistakes, and unforgiveness. I pray God will heal those hurts.

Pray for God to give them godly wives or husbands. Pray God will mend their hearts. If they were living destructive lives, pray God will turn their lives around. Pray whatever God prompts you to pray for them.

6) Your Political Leaders

I’ve gotten a chance to read Exodus again and after dissecting the instructions God gave to Moses, I believe even back then, God placed a governmental system for the Isreals to follow a godly moral code. However, it’s safe to say some of our political leaders have strayed away from a biblical moral code.

I pray for God to influence these leaders. Pray their moral compass follows scriptures. Pray for them to be aligned to Christ in mind and in heart. Pray for them to write policies and laws that are biblically grounded. I specifically don’t pray for policies to be “for the people,” because people have turned their backs on God.

7) Your Child’s Friends & Teachers

For a long time, I thought homeschooling would be the best and ultimate option for my children to be shielded from the world. I need to remember Ephesians and equip my child to put on that armor when they face the world.

Better yet, I pray for my child to be surrounded by godly friends and teachers. I pray for teachers to keep my child safe and protected. I pray they will challenge my child to learn in ways I never thought possible. I pray they will be respected by their peers and authorities.

When your child is at school for 6-8 hours a day, praying for the people they encounter has got to be a priority. You are raising of child of God! Remember that.

8) Your Boss, Gym Instructors, People Who Lead you

There is nothing worse than working for someone who doesn’t represent you. Fortunately, I’ve been blessed to work for great leaders, but I know some people who haven’t.

Bosses/leaders give an enormous amounts of energy to provide you a good work out, a good working environment, or a good classroom environment. Some of them manage people who may be hard to manage!

As someone who has facilitated meetings, or led large groups of people, I know it’s not always easy to be a leader.

Pray for them to be Holy Spirit guided. Pray for them to have wisdom in character. Pray for their integrity, honor, responsibility, and accountability. Pray for them to be flexibile. Pray for them to be a good mentor to you. Pray God will grant them creativity and tact.

This was a short list! I hope I have expanded your prayer life more through this post. Is there anyone I’m forgetting? Perhaps I should write a part 2? LOL

Patty here...I was raised a religious Catholic to being Athiest, to Agnostic and now 110% captured by the love of Jesus! Most days I'm in leggings, and my hair is pulled in a bun. I'm not an expert on life, but I promise I will do my best to encourage and provide meaningful insight through my imperfect life with the one and only Jesus Christ.

Newsletter

Subscribe to my mailing list

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Donate to Tower International

We are a fairly new ministry and would greatly appreciate it any donations to support it! As you step into faith, I declare God will meet all your needs plus more according to his glorious riches in Jesus Christ. Phillipians 4:19

*Please note: we are not yet a 501c3 organization. Any funds donated are not tax deductible